Happiness is composed by many little joys. We can never guarantee being happy 100% of the time, but we can (and we should) fill our day with as many pleasurable things as we can.

In my case, I feel a lot of joy by jumping for the first time on a super clean, soft, pre-made bed. I enjoy it so much that I came up with a hashtag for it: #newbednewjump and I’ve been, for the past year, collecting as many of these moments as I can.

Sometimes you wake up and you’re just not doing well. We feel sad and we regret our acquaintances for not being thoughtful and not realizing when we need their help. Somehow, we usually expect the initiative to come from them… but what if, instead of waiting, we just verbalized that we need some attention?

That’s what Samantha La Rocco did, and it was not even to her friends, but to the restaurant she was ordering from. And guess what!!? It worked!

WARNING: This post is not about “making urban interventions to bring joy to people’s routine“, but it IS about urban interventions, and CAN bring joy to people’s routine. I’ll explain:

I’m from Brazil and if you’ve checked any news lately you know a bit about the protests that are happening there.

First thing I need to confess before I write this post, is to say that I’m definitely NOT a politically oriented person. This has always been a subject that I’ve avoided, and part of the reason why, is because it honestly never made too much difference for me. I never needed to use public transportation, public education and always had private doctors to take care of me when I was sick. That being said, why should I bother, right!?

At least once per week a friend of mine sends me one of Coca-Cola videos. I’m the biggest fan of their kind initiatives (like “Live Positively” and “Crazy for Good“) and can’t get tired of watching their videos.

Coca-cola is not the only company that uses kindness as a way to conquer consumer’s loyalty. Pepsi also promotes good initiatives (check Refresh Everything), and many other big companies are engaged in volunteer work, defending different causes. The difference, for me, is that Coca-Cola makes it better.

That being said, these are my top five favorite videos:

5. Happinness Truck in India
Small surprises can make your whole day better

Sometimes, your surroundings are so perfect that it’s hard to improve them! In LA we have beautiful trails fulled with beautiful people ornamented by amazing views. How do we make it better and promote joy?

The answer is simple: HAMMOCKS!!!

Imagine the scenario: you’re all tired after a long hike and you get to this place from where you can see both Downtown LA AND the ocean. You want to be able to enjoy it for a little and just admire the view, but there’s no where to rest. If only I had a hammock…

And, for those that like diagrams, like me, I created the Mood Calendar! It’s simple: you daily draw the face that represents your mood on the white box below the numbers, and by the end of the year you will check how was your progress. Yes, I’m very determined in making this year LEGENDARY!

About:

IsA Wonderful World is a series of urban interventions created to break the routine and bring joy to people living in big cities. We deeply believe that positive attitudes can lead into a kinder society.